INSYS MICROELECTRONICS brings “plug and pay” to electric car charging as part of the influential e-mobility project.

In the course of this project, RWE will install electric vehicle charging stations in various German cities, giving electro-mobility a boost for everyday use. Experts in industrial data communication, INSYS has equipped the charging stations with control computers and industrial Programmable Controller modems, providing an uncomplicated charging process and simple invoicing. These custom-built INSYS devices handle the communication between car, charging station and the clearing center in charge of the billing.

High efficiency, no noise, no exhaust gas, no CO2 – the automotive future is electric. However, charging batteries differs from conventional refueling: even though high-performance lithium-ion batteries are in use today, it always takes longer to fully charge the battery than filling up at the petrol station. Electric cars should therefore be charged regularly when parked. RWE intends to enable that by installing a close-meshed network of charging stations, with the e-mobility project as a starting point. Apart from high availability, a simple charging process and easy billing are important factors for the system's everyday suitability.

Furthermore, users should be free to choose their preferred energy provider. All data communication is handled by the INSYS-developed RWE e-mobility LSG control computer and the RWE e-mobility PLC power line modem. Data communication between the charging station and car runs via the power line modem. The data connection between the charging station and the energy provider's clearing center is established by the RWE e-mobility LSG unit via the mobile radio-based data transmission service GPRS.

Battery recharging proceeds as follows: the user parks the car next to the charging station and connects it to the charging cable. The car sends its identification data to the charging station via the cable. The station then gathers tariff information from the clearing house and displays it to the user. Meanwhile, the integrated charge controller monitors the energy flow. Just like in conventional petrol pumps, a counter in the charging station measures the released amount of energy.

After the charging process is finished, the control computer sends a data packet containing measured values to the clearing house for further processing. The clearing house then forwards the billing data to the operator of the charging station, who invoices the user. A standardized protocol co-developed by INSYS, which handles the complete communication between vehicle and charging station, ensures a comprehensive and operator-independent clearing.

As a specialist for communication solutions with a track record in industry, automation and energy, INSYS is designing major innovative solutions and is setting standards for the future.